Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), and Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), have condemned actor Shomi Kaiser’s attitude towards journalists and demanded a public apology from her.
Shomi, also the president of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), lost her two cell phones during a program at the National Press Club on Wednesday, where she was giving a speech.
Right after that incident, her security guards locked the gate and searched all the journalists and guests present there.
Around 50 journalists and more than one hundred guests were locked inside the conference room for more than half an hour following the incident.
At one point, the journalists got angry because of the way they were searched and protested. At one stage, Shomi reportedly termed the reporters “thieves” which sparked strong criticism and condemnation from journalists present there.
Later, recorded footage showed the phones were stolen by a worker.
Following the incident, BFUJ President Molla Jalal, Secretary General Shaban Mahmud, DUJ President Abu Jafar Surjo, and General Secretary Sohel Haider Chowdhury, gave a joint statement. DRU President, Ilias Hossain, and General Secretary Kabir Ahmed Khan, gave a separate statement condemning the incident.
The statements said: “By criticizing journalists who belong to the same profession as her father’s, she has dishonored her father in the worst way possible.
“The way she treated the journalists following the loss of her cell phones, breached all etiquette a celebrity should show, and it can never be acceptable from such a prominent actress or business leader like her.”
The journalist leaders demanded an unconditional public apology from her, otherwise the community would boycott all her programs in the future. If necessary, the professionals would expose her wrongdoings, if any.
